i've had a regular specialized sirrus for 2 years which i liked but the components could have been better. it was $600 new. i rode the bike pretty much every day for my commute to work and the bike started to show it's weaknesses in terms of functionality and durability. i just sold it and am now shopping for another hybrid. this time i want something a little sturdier and with better components and disc brakes. i'm also considering single speed, i already have a single speed folding bike that is a lot of fun to ride, haha.

i've looked around a little and i found the cannondale bad boy pretty appealing, although the ultra is out of my price range and the cheaper one doesn't have disc brakes. the single speed is not available in the us it seems. then i found the marin point reyes, and a friend recommended the jamis coda elite.

are those good bikes for the buck? what else is out there? what is a really good, sturdy hybrid for everyday use for about $1000???

08-27-08, 10:59 PM

bikinpolitico

Welcome, dixiewhiskey

I'd post this in the commuting section. I'm not a big fan of hybrids for commuters/transportation bikes. You might check out my bike picker article here for more options: http://austinbikeblog.org/?p=38

The Dr. Dew is more of a messenger-style urban bike. With more aggressive geometry that closely resembles a road bikes, disc brakes, a triple chainring, flat handlebar and beefy tires, the Dr. Dew is an agile speedster that can handle all the abuse urban roads can dish out. The Dr. Dew retails for $899.

I got mine in '04, the year it was introduced, and I haven't liked any of the colors since.
It comes with hydraulic brakes, but I had mine swapped for Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes before I picked it up. Added lots of other goodies too, including a Nitro-Pro suspension seatpost.

Great thing about it is it has a 54t chainring in front for top-end speed. Combine that with the 11t rear ring, and you can fly along at a good pace.:speedy:
The past 2 weeks I've been looking at bikes, trying to find a similar design with a more upright position. Nothing else I saw matched the Dr. Dew's design, and I looked at bikes from Trek, Specialized, Felt, Cannondale, Jamis, Gary Fisher.

If you don't care about top-end speed, you have more options.:)

The Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra looked promising, but the tire width is limited to narrow road tires. I have 700x42 tires on mine, and I read that someone put 48mm on theirs.

Check out the Dews! :thumb:

08-29-08, 05:21 AM

East Hill

Hmm, that's a nice suggestion. Although I like narrower tyres on my bikes, so the Bad Boy Ultra's limitations would not bother me.